Viruses are made of nucleic acid (DNA or RNA) enclosed in a protein coat and sometimes further wrapped in a membranous envelope. Viruses are obligate intracellular parasites; they can only reproduce within a host cell. An isolated virus is unable to replicate itself, or do anything else for that matter, except infect an appropriate host cell. Of the DNA viruses, the herpes family is the source of the most common viral illnesses in man. The group consists of herpes simplex viruses type-1 and type-2 (HSV-1 and HSV-2), varicella zoster virus (VZV), cytomegalovirus (CMV), and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). We have discovered that certain polyaromatic compounds characterized by formulas I, II, and III have potent antiviral activity against the herpes family, particularly against herpes simplex viruses. These compounds inhibit the origin-specific DNA-binding protein, an essential herpes virus replication protein, binding to the origin of viral DNA replication. As such, the compounds inhibit the initiation of herpes viral DNA synthesis in the host cell. Because of this unique mechanism, the compounds not only exhibit potent activity against herpes viruses but also are active against viral trains resistant to currently available therapeutic agents.